Kirk Falconer

Montréal-born hospitality brand Sonder has raised about $275 million (US$210 million) in a Series D financing led by Valor Equity, Westcap and Nicolas Pritzker, all new investors. The round values the business at more than US$1 billion, according to a news release. Other first-time backers of the deal include Canada’s Inovia Capital, which earlier this year raised US$600 million for new venture and growth-equity funds. Founded in 2012 by CEO Francis Davidson and COO Lucas Pellan, Sonder has its headquarters in San Francisco, relocating from Montréal in 2017. As part of the Series D, the company said it will open a second global HQ in Canada.

Two Canadian investment pros are enrolled in the world’s foremost school for venture capitalists. Last month, Real Ventures’ Janet Bannister and Build Ventures’ Rob Barbara joined VCs from around the world in the 24th class of Silicon Valley educator Kauffman Fellows, a program dedicated to boosting VC skills. Running over a two-year period, Class 24 […]

District Ventures Capital, a Canadian consumer-goods venture capital firm founded by Dragon’s Den star and entrepreneur Arlene Dickinson, has raised additional capital. Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) and Bank of Montreal (BMO) provided the commitments, increasing District's debut fund to $70 million. OMERS committed $33 million. Calgary-based District invests in early-stage consumer-goods companies, including innovative brands in Canada’s food, beverage and health sectors. The firm also sponsors an accelerator. Fund I was initially capitalized in 2017 by George Weston Ltd, the Saputo family, ATB Financial, Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss, Retail Ready Foods and other limited partners.

Toronto-based enterprise wealth management platform d1g1t has secured an additional $3 million in financing, bringing its total funding to $12 million. The investment, made by U.K. venture capital firm Illuminate Financial Management, tops up d1g1t 's Series A round, announced last November. It was led by Canadian financial services firm Purpose Financial LP. Founded in 2017, d1g1t provides integrated technology that uses advanced analytics and risk management tools to help wealth management companies better advise and serve their clients. Led by CEO Dan Rosen, d1g1t will use the funds raised to accelerate product innovation and expand in the U.S. market.

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has appointed Jo Taylor as its president and CEO, effective January 1, 2020. Taylor, who is currently executive managing director, global development, will replace Ron Mock, who is retiring. Mock joined Ontario Teachers' in 2001 and became president and CEO in 2014. Taylor began with Ontario Teachers’ in 2012, leading Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) operations and later assumed additional responsibility for Asia-Pacific operations. His prior roles include serving as managing partner of U.K. private equity and infrastructure firm 3i Group. Toronto-based Ontario Teachers’ oversees more than $191 billion in net assets.

Sydney, Nova Scotia-based cybersecurity technology company Securicy has raised $1.8 million in financing. Private backers of the round, including Hub Angels, Panache Ventures, Concrete Ventures, Innovacorp and U.S. angel investors, committed $1.2 million. Federal and provincial government sources accounted for the rest. Securicy is a software-as-a-service provider that specializes in helping small and medium-sized organizations achieve and maintain information security and privacy compliance. Founded in 2016 by CEO Darren Gallop and COO Laird Wilton, the company previously secured about $655,000 (US$500,000) in a pre-seed round.

Coloursmith Labs, a Halifax-based provider of optical filter technology, has secured $600,000 in a pre-seed financing. The round was backed several investors, including Brigus Capital, Island Capital Partners and the venture capital fund of Killick Capital. Brigus President Wade Dawe will join the board. Founded last year by CEO Gabrielle Masone, Coloursmith develops lens-enhancing filters for contact lenses to address vision challenges. Its early-stage product pipeline includes optical filters to enhance colour vision and protect eyes from harmful blue light. Coloursmith will use the funds raised to further advance its technology and hire additional staff.

Weever Apps, a Hamilton, Ontario-based workforce apps developer, has raised $1.625 million in financing. The deal includes $500,000 from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), as well as $1.125 million from private investors, among them MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund (IAF) and GreenSky Capital. Founded in 2011, Weever Apps provides cloud-based software products that help organizations enhance workflow visibility and efficiency. Led by CEO Steve McBride, Weever Apps will use the funds raised to commercialize Process Manager, a new solution designed for food and drug manufacturers, and reach new markets.

Hifi Engineering Inc, a Calgary-based provider of leak detection and incident prevention technology, has raised $10 million in financing from BDC Capital and an undisclosed strategic investor. BDC invested through Ottawa’s $700 million clean technology strategy, announced last year. Hifi's other investors include Cenovus Environmental Opportunity Fund and Enbridge Inc. Founded in 2007 by CTO John Hull, Hifi develops and supplies fibre optic sensing technology for preventative leak detection in pipelines and monitoring of critical assets. The funds raised will be used to accelerate the company's growth and support continued research and development.